Women in Bahrain plea lawmakers to identify raped women as ‘victim’ not ‘offender’

Demanding the adoption of strict laws to punish men who commit rape, 19 social organisations led by women associations have urged the parliamentary committee to remove Article 353 of the Penal Code. Article 353 offers a legal loophole - a marriage clause that allows rapists to escape punishment if they marry their victims. “The criminal charges and convictions would be dropped against a rapist who produces an official marriage certificate,” the article states. The associations observed that the MPs should act immediately to preserve the reputation of Bahrain as a land of equal rights. “We express our deep concern over article-353 of the Bahrain Penal Code. The parliamentarians should immediately act on this,” said a representative of Bahrain Women’s Union (BWU). “The situation is terrible. A raped woman is a victim and not an offender and she should not be held responsible for saving a family’s honour,” the representative added. Bahraini parliamentarians have been considering a proposal to introduce tougher punishments including life sentences against rapists.